Francesco D'Orazio and Giampaolo Nuti in Christchurch on June 8, at the occasion of Italian National Day celebrations;

Picture courtesy - Viviana Zanetti

The Dante Alighieri Society of Christchurch in collaboration with the Italian Embassy organised the Italian National Day in Christchurch on June 8.

The guests were entertained to a violin and piano concert by two international artists, violinist Francesco D’Orazio and pianist Giampaolo Nuti, who presented compositions by Marco Betta, Igor Stravinsky, Nino Rota and Ferruccio Busoni.

Maria Fresia, a member of the Society who has lived in New Zealand for 25 years and is the Christchurch Coordinator for Interpreting NZ, informed, "Both of them are celebrating 30 years of musical cooperation and have been known to present contemporary music in an engaging way. After the concert, the gathering was treated to Italian wine and delicacies, with the Italian Ambassador to New Zealand Carmelo Barbarello in attendance."